- Who
- Hayabusa2
- What
- 3 total number
- Where
- Not Applicable ()
- When
On 3 October 2018, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 (Japanese for "Peregrine falcon2") landed the third of four probes on the surface of asteroid 162173 Ryugu. Ryugu is an asteroid containing pristine collection of ice, organic compounds and minerals, making it the subject of immense value in the understanding of how life may have evolved in the Solar System. To date, Hayabusa2 has launched Minerva II payload carrying two rovers - Rover-1A and Rover-1B - which are currently in operation performing data gathering on the asteroid. The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (Mascot) descended on 3 October 2018 and performed 'hops' on the surface of the asteroid until its battery ran out 17 hours later, after important data was gathered and relayed back via Hayabusa.
